Star Wars_ Coruscant Nights III_ Patterns of Force - Michael Reaves [67]
“Yes,” said Laranth, deadpan expression back in full force. “We probably should.”
fifteen
By the time they had accomplished the task, Jax was so tired he saw floating afterimages of light in reverse colors interacting with the product of their work. But they now had Kaj encircled by a series of half a dozen fans of illumination pulsing so swiftly that they seemed to sparkle.
Pleased with the effect, Jax had Kaj try a series of Force exercises and was rewarded by finding not a single leak. He and Laranth even went up in the gallery and leaned out over the lambent “roof” of the light structure. Nothing of what Kaj did escaped, even when he executed a Force leap that took him up to the level of the gallery rail.
“Am I really safe in here?”
His child-like uncertainty was engaging. Jax grinned. “Yeah. I think you are.”
“So what’s next?” the boy asked eagerly. “Can you teach me to use a lightsaber?”
Jax’s grin grew wider as he glanced at Laranth. He could just imagine what she thought of Kaj’s enthusiasm for the Jedi weapon. As usual, her expression revealed nothing.
“You want to talk up the blaster as a weapon of choice?” he asked.
She shook her head. “The philosophy of the Gray Paladins is simply that each Jedi should choose the style of weapon that best suits him or her. From what I’ve seen of Kajin’s ‘style’ I’d say he may not need any weapon at all.”
The boy looked crestfallen. “I like lightsabers.”
“Then use a lightsaber, by all means. I’m sure Jax can help you build one.”
“Can we use the hilt of that one?” Kaj nodded at the Sith weapon.
“Sure.”
“Really? It doesn’t have to be—y’know—original?”
“A hilt can be made out of anything the Jedi is comfortable holding,” Laranth said.
“Can we start now?” Kaj asked.
“Building a lightsaber? No,” Jax said. “I need to—”
“No, I meant me learning to use one.”
Jax considered the idea, his eyes roving around the studio for some suitable surrogate for a lightsaber. He found a long piece of duraluminum about two and a half centimeters thick and only a bit shorter than a standard blade. Taking a remote, which he’d packed earlier, from his bag, he entered the cage of light, activated the droid, and tossed it into the air where it hung, humming, awaiting his instructions.
“Is that a toy?” Kaj asked.
“Not exactly. It’s a practice droid—a remote. It’s what every Padawan starts out with. It shoots EM beams at you, and you try to parry them before they hit you.” He gestured Kaj to a place along the sidelines. “Watch,” he said.
He closed his eyes, took up the duraluminum rod, and faced the bobbing sphere with it. He gave the activation command, and the little ball shot away from him.
He followed it with the Force, circling, moving as the remote moved. He felt it dart in for an attack, felt the tiny neural net about to trigger a sizzling beam of energy. He moved easily to intercept it with the rod and felt an answering fizz of energy run up the ersatz lightsaber to his hands. It tickled, but not unpleasantly; the metal diffused the charge. He continued the exercise, showing Kaj the basic postures and moves of Shii-Cho, not opening his eyes until he had deflected a dozen shots.
Meanwhile, Laranth prowled the perimeter of the light cage, even going up to walk the gallery, scanning for leaks.
“Wow,” breathed Kaj when Jax at last deactivated the remote. “That was amazing. You never even looked at it.”
Jax stared at the boy in disbelief for a moment, then burst out laughing. “After what I saw you do, you’re impressed by my fencing with a remote?”
“When I use the Force in defense it’s all instinct and desperation,” Kaj said earnestly. “I can’t control it like that—I just strike out. Even when I use it to do other things like get food or clothes or find a safe haven, I’m never sure of it. I never know quite what it’s going to do.”
“I understand. Every Padawan goes through that. Every Padawan has to learn his own technique.